It has been a great year for commodity stocks, as commodities from silver and copper to wheat and cotton hit fresh highs.

Content on this page requires a newer version of Adobe Flash Player.

Solutia ( SOA) is a global manufacturer and marketer of chemical and engineered materials that are used in a range of consumer and industrial applications.

The company derives only 25% of its revenues from the U.S. More than a third of its revenue comes from Europe and China accounts for 12%.

Solutia caters to a diverse base of industries including the fast-growing solar sector. The company intends to broaden its solar business and is targeting a 20% compound annual growth rate from the solar segment over the long term.

Solutia produces advanced interlayers that are used to encapsulate photovoltaic solar cells. It is currently expanding its encapsulant facility in Suzhou, China.

"The photovoltaic market has seen tremendous growth in 2010, and the majority of photovoltaic module production is in Asia," said Tim Wessel, president and general manager of Solutia's Advanced Interlayers division. "We continue to invest to meet growing demand and provide cost-effective solar encapsulant solutions in the greater Asia-Pacific region and around the world."

Solutia expects to earn $2 to $2.25 per share from continuing operations in 2011, excluding one-time costs. It also forecast revenue of $2.1 billion to $2.2 billion.